Bunch building mechanism



p 7, 1954 E. J. WRIGHT 2,688,451

BUNCH BUILDING MECHANISM Filed D90. 22, 1952 P a r Y 0 a F! 194/? (a/ifi/ Q z; v

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I INVENTOR ZZWZ/ dz/T ATTORNEY patented Sept. 7, 1954 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE BUNCH BUILDING MECHANISM Application December 22, 1952;Serial'No. 327,240

k 8 Claims. 1

This invention relates to winding machines and more specifically isdirected to an improved yarn guide array for winding machines. As thisapparatus is particularly designed and adapted for use with windingmachines of the type known as the No. 90 Universal Winder manufacturedby the Universal Winding Company of Providence, Rhode Island, it will bedescribed with specific reference to such application, although, as willbe readily understood, the invention in its broadest aspects is notlimited thereto.

Winding machines of the type just referred to have been in widespreaduse in the textile industry for a number of years. Where they areemployed in winding quills for use in automatic looms, attachments knownas bunch builders are conventionally associated therewith. The functionof the bunch builder is to wind at length of yarn equivalent to severalpicks on the quill adjacent the butt endthereof prior to the winding ofthe remainder of the quill. The buildercom'prises, essentially, anadditional yarn guide which is inserted into the path of the yarnbetween the yarn guide carried by the traversing mechanism of the winderand. the quill, deflecting the yarn from its normal path tothe regionadjacent the butt of the quill, which additional guide is automaticallyremoved. from the yarn path after a predetermined number of turns ofyarn have been wound about the quill.

By virtue of the displacementof the yarn by the builder guide, the angleof contact between the yarn and the traverse guide is increased by about90 and, in addition, the yarn wraps around the builder guide to theextent of about 90. Thus, a total of almost 180 of wraparound isintroduced by the interjection of the builder guide into the quillingoperation with the result that the initial tension in the yarn ismaterially amplified during the formation of the bunch. This tensiondifferential shows up as defects in the woven fabric, such as shiners,

caused by stretching the yarn beyond its elastic limit, or tight picksbefore quill transfer.

Such defects are more noticeable with brighttionally used in response tothe motion of the builder guide. Obviously, this approach involvedmerely compensating for a deficiency in the winder rather thancorrectingsuch deficiency.

A further undesirable feature of the No.- winder is that it lackedpositive control of the yarn during the building of the bunch. That isto say, the yarn is not positively guided along the length of the bunchbut rather depends upon changes in the angles of incidence anddeflection of the yarn to and from-the builder guide due to thereciprocatory motion of the traversing mechanism for its movement to andfro along the bunch.

It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide a yarnguide array for winders which is adapted to builda bunch on a quillwithout the introduction of excessive tension in the yarn forming thebunch.

Another feature of this invention is the provision of a yarn guide arraywhich positively traverses the yarn during the building of a bunch aswell as during the remainder of the winding cycle.

An additional object is to provide an improved yarn guide array whichdoes not require major deviations in the technique of threading up fromthat traditionally employed by winder operators.

Astill further object is to provide an improved guide array which issimple in construction, inexpensive in cost and is capable of use inlieu of conventional arrays without modification of existing winders.

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention will beapparent from the following description, when read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of one position of a conventionalwinding machine showing the prior art traverse guide and builder guidein association with related parts of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View similar to Fig. 1, showing my improved guidearray in use in lieu of the prior art devices, the array being shown inthe outer traverse position during the formation of the bunch;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, except that the machine is shown inthe inner traverse position;

Fig. 4- is a right elevational view of the device as shown in Fig; 2-with the conventional traverse mechanism omitted for purposes ofclarity; and

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of the yarn guide portion of my"invention.

In general, the'objects of my invention are accomplished by mounting onthe traversing mechanism of a winder adjacent the quill an elongatedyarn guide which lies within a plane perpendicular to the path of theyarn at this point and is adapted to pivot within this plane, althoughnormally biased against pivotal movement. The guide extends from thetraversing mechanism on one side of the quill, across the quill so thatit is disposed between the quill and the yarn source, and projects ashort distance beyond the quill on the other side thereof. Associatedwith the bunch building mechanism of the winding machine are detentmeans which engage the projecting end of the guide during the bunchbuilding operation, restraining it against movement parallel to the axisof the quill. Thus, as the bunch is being wound, the traversingmechanism and the end of the guide carried thereby are reciprocated thefull distance of the traverse; the other end of the guide, however, isnot free to reciprocate and since the yarn passes through the guide at apoint very near the restrained end, the extent of movement of the yarnis much less than that of the full traverse.

In order to better illustrate the improvement which my inventionprovides over the prior art, I have included in Fig. 1 a showing of theprior art construction as it is more or less universally used today,only so much of the mechanism of a conventional No. 90 winding machinebeing illustrated as is necessary for an understanding of the relationof yarn guide devices therewith. The machine winds onto a quill yarn Ywhich issues from a source (not shown) disposed more or less directlyabove the quill II, the machine per se comprising a frame |2 housingdriving means (not shown) for rotating a spindle |3 which receives thequill H, and for driving a traverse rod l4, having an associatedtraverse or builder wheel and cop former l6. Mounted on the frame I2 isa conventional bunch building control mechanism, generally indicated bythe numeral H, which mechanism includes a ratchet feed pawl arm IB and alever l9. For a more complete description of the bunch building controlmechanism, reference is made to Quill Patent No. 1,809,217 of June 9,1931. The traverse wheel l5 carries a yoke-shaped bracket 20 which ismounted for pivotal movement about the traverse rod I4 independently ofwheel l5 and which supports the usual porcelain guide 2|. Clamped to thelever IQ of the bunch builder I1 is a hooked-shaped finger 22 which, asis well known, is adapted to be moved into the path of the yarn Y torestrict the extent of travel of the yarn during the building of thebunch.

As is readily evident from Fig. 1, the prior art configuration is suchas to cause the yarn to be wrapped around both the poreclain guide 2|and the finger 22 with the resultant increase in tension in the yarnwhich goes into the bunch.

Attention is now directed to Figures 2 through 5, illustrating myimproved guide array in association with certain related parts of awinding machine and in these figures where reference is made toconventional parts already mentioned in connection with the discussionof Fig. 1 a prime designation will be used.

In accordance with this invention, an articulated yarn guide 28 iscarried by the bracket 20' of the traverse wheel l5 and consists of arigid element 30 and a movable arm 3|. The rigid element 38 is formed ofsheet metal and is prothe arm 20 in position above quill vided with adownwardly directed flange 29 at one end thereof which is fixedlysecured to the bracket 20 by bolt 32 or any other suitable means. Thiselement extends obliquely from the bracket 20 in a direction inwardlyand away from the quill I and terminates in a generally rounded endhaving an upstanding ear or tab 33 at the inner corner thereof. Themovable arm 3| has a short body section 34 also formed of sheet metalwhich is bent at one end to provide a U-shaped yoke into which fits thefree end of the rigid element 30, the body section 34 and the end ofrigid element 30 being pivotably connected together by means of a pin35.

To the other end of body section 34 is secured, as by brazing, one legof an elongated U-shaped guide 36 formed of heavy round stock, the otherleg of the guide 36 being bent upwardly and outwardly at its extremetermination adjacent body section 34, as at 39, to provide a passagewaythrough which the yarn Y can be admitted into the interior of guide 36.

The end of body section 34 which is connected to the rigid element 30 isformed with an integral upstanding tab or ear 3'! at the corner thereofremote from the corner of rigid element 30 which carries ear 33. Theears 33 and 31 are connected together by a tension spring 38 so that themovable arm 3| is urged to the position shown in Figure 3.

Associated with the bunch builder control mechanism l1 and clamped tothe lever I9 is the detent member 40 formed from heavy wire orequivalent material. This member extends outwardly from the lever I9 ina direction generally away from the frame l2 of the winder, and, as isbest shown in Fig. 4, is formed with a short downwardly directed section4| immediately adjacent the end of lever I9, then a horizontal section42, followed by a short upwardly directed section 43, ending in adownwardly directed inclined section 44. The function of the inclinedsection 44 of the detent member 40 is to eliminate the need for aseparate operation in, threading up the winder. It will be readily seenthat as the guide array is moved rearwardly toward the machineincidental to threading-up, the element 36 will contact the inclinedsection 44, ride up that section and drop down into the channel definedby sections 4|, 42 and 43 where it will be restrained against reciprocalmovement so long as the detent 40 is in the position shown in Figures 2and 3.

customarily, the bracket 20' is freely pivotable about the traverse rodl4, the weight of the porcelain guide being depended upon to keepHowever, I prefer to utilize a wire spring 45 bearing against thebracket 26 to resiliently maintain it in its proper position relative toquill The operation of my device proceeds as follows: the operator firstdraws down the strand of yarn Y from the source and wraps it around thespindle l3 which is empty following the previous doff. The quill II isthen inserted in position on spindle l3 so that the end of the yarn issecurely held between the quill and the spindle. Thereafter, theoperator swings the lever I3 to the left until it looks into operativeposition adjacent the butt of the quill and then with the left handmoves the traverse wheel l5 down the traverserod M to its extreme inwardposition, as shown in Figure 3, and with the right hand, moves the yarnthrough the passageway between the upwardly bent leg of the U-shapedguide 36. and the body section 34 so thattheyarnextends through theinterior, of guide 36. There'- after, the winding machineis started up,rotating spindle l3, and quill II and reciprocating the traverse rod l4.back and forth the distance of about 2 inches parallel to the axis ofthe spindle l3. The end of the movable arm 3| which is pivotablyconnected to the rigid element 30, of course, moves the full distance ofthe traverse; the other end of the arm 3|, how'- ever, is engaged by thesection 43 of detent 40 and is restrained against reciprocatory movementalthough it is free to slide transversely ofthe axis of the, spindle [3'so as to permit the full movement of the pivotably connected end. Sincethe locus of the yarn passing through guide 36 is. much nearer the pointof engagement of the guide 36 with the vertical section 43 than it is tothe pivotal axis of the movable arm 3|, the distance which the yarn iscaused to move along the axis of the quill I l' is much less than thatof the full traverse.

The detent 40 remains in its operative position until a predeterminednumber of strokes of the traverse mechanism is made, at which time thebunch builder I2 is tripped, swinging lever IE! to the right in Fig. 2which releases arm 3|, permitting it to assume the position shown inFig. 3. Thearm 3| stays in this latter position throughout the remainderof the quilling cycle with the result thatthe arm 3! moves bodily withthe traversing mechanism, carrying the yarn the full distance of eachstroke.

Following the law of proportionate triangles, the distance which theyarn moves divided by the distance of the full traverse will be equal tothe distance of the locus of the yarn from the point of contact of theelement 35 with detent 40' divided by the distance from this point ofcontact to the pivotal axis of the portion 3|. Thus, the length of thebunch can be determined by moving the detent either inwardly oroutwardly with respect to the locus of the yarn to give either a shorteror longer bunch as may be desired.

Preferably, I mount the movable arm 3| as close to the periphery of thequill l I as is practically feasible. This is done in order to insurequick response and good control over the yarn as it is traversed sincethe further this arm is spaced away from the quill, the greater the lagbetween the movement of the yarn and the movement of the arm and,consequently, the more difficult it is to wind a level bunch.

Also, it is desirable for the arm 3| to be perpendicular to the path ofthe yarn in the neighborhood of the quill since by maintaining it thusany tendency of the yarn to move along the length of the arm issubstantially avoided. On the other hand, if the arm were inclined withrespect to the path of the yarn near the quill, the yarn would tend tomigrate-toward the lower end.

By bending the termination of the inner leg of guide 36 in the fashiondescribed, I have made it possible for an operator in charge of windingmachines equipped with my array to use almost identically the sametechnique in threading up my array as she now uses with the porcelaintype guide. This is an important feature since it bears heavily on milland operator acceptance of any improvement in the textile industry.

In addition, my articulated yarn guide 28 and detent 40 are attached tothe winder in exactly the same manner as are the conventional por- 6celain guide and hook-shaped. finger with the result that expensivemodifications of existing winders are not required for a change-over tothis. invention.

It will be apparent that by Virtue of my particular arrangement .I. haveprovided a yarn guide array and bunch builder-in which yarn wrap-aroundis reducedv to a bare minimum and positive control over the yarn isexercised at all times, two features that, to my knowledge, have notbeen hithertofore available to the winding art.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art changes and variationsin the specific construction of. this invention could obviously be madewithout departing from the broad teachings of this application. Forexample, a conventional pigtail-guide could be rigidly secured to themovable arm of my array which, in turn, could be solid rather thanhaving a slotted section. Also, the inclined section of the detent couldbe omitted if a further operation in threading-up be deemedunobjectional. Therefore, I do not Wish to be limited to the singleembodiment of this invention whichhas been described but only by theappended claims.

The following is claimed:

1. The combination with a machine for winding yarn upon a quill, saidmachine including a traversing mechanism and a bunch building mechanism,of yarn guide means comprising a rigid portion carried by saidtraversing mechanism, an elongated pivotable portion mounted at one endon said rigid portion projecting beyond said quill and normally biasedagainst pivotal movement, said pivotable portion having an aperturetherein in general radial registration with said quill, anddetent meansassociated with said bunch building mechanism for engaging the endofsaid pivotable portion remote from said rigid portion during thebuilding of the bunch, whereby saidpivotable portion is rocked about itspivotal axis by the action of said traversing means.

2. The combination'with a machine for winding yarn upon a quill having abutt and a stem, said machine including means generally parallel to theaxis of said quill being re'ciprocated a fixed distance when saidmachine is in operation and means carried'by said reciprocating means,being adapted to be progressively moved along the length of said quillstem during the course of said winding, said machine being provided withan arm movable into operative position adjacent the butt of said quillat the start of said winding, said arm being automatically released fromsaid position after a predetermined number of turns of yarn have beenwound about said quill stem; of means for guiding said yarn to saidquill comprising a bracket member fixed at one end to said means carriedby said reciprocating means, a yarn guide member pivotally mounted onsaid bracket, said guide member having an elongated .opening formedtherein, said opening being in substantial registration with said quill,means biasing said guide member and said bracket together, and detentmeans carried by said arm for engaging the free end of said guide memberwhen said arm is in operative position.

3. Means for winding yarn upon a rotating quill comprising a leverdisposed substantially transversely of said quill in proximity theretoand generally perpendicular to the path of the yarn being wound uponsaid quill, a yarn guide passageway carried by said lever in radialalignment with said quill, means pivotab'ly supporting one end of saidlever and adapted to reciprocate a fixed distance parallel to the axisof said quill, spring means urging said lever to move bodily with saidlast-named means, and detent means movable into operative positionadjacent said quill during a predetermined portion of the winding cycleto restrain; the free end of said lever against reciprocatory motionduring said portion whereby said lever is rocked about its pivot axis,restricting the extent of movement of said passageway with respect tosaid quill.

4. Apparatus for directing yarn from a yarn source to a rotating quillhaving a butt and stem comprising an elongated yarn guide memberdisposed adjacent said quill, having a length substantially greater thanthe diameter of said quill stem whereby said member projects beyond saidquill on either side thereof, a yarn passageway in said member ingeneral registration with the path of yarn from said source to saidquill, means reciprocating a fixed distance in a direction parallel tothe axis of said quill and pivotably supporting one end of said guidemember, said member being biased for normal bodily movement with saidreciprocating means and means operable for a predetermined duration oftime to engage the other end of said member at a point proximate to saidstem, whereby as said means reciprocates, said member is rocked aboutits pivotal axis.

5. Apparatus for winding yarn upon a rotating quill including atraversing mechanism and a bunch builder comprising means for deliveringa strand of yarn to said quill along a path extending generally radiallyof said quill, a lever disposed adjacent said quill and extendinggenerally transversely thereof, one end of said lever being spaced fromsaid quill, means associated with said traversing means for supportingsaid lever at the aforementioned end thereof for pivotal movement in aplane perpendicular to the path of yarn, yarn guide means provided onsaid lever including a yarn passageway in general alignment with saidyarn path, means normally urging said lever to move bodily with saidtraversing mechanism, and means adapted to restrain the other end ofsaid lever against movement with said traversing mechanism during apredetermined portion of the winding operation.

6. Apparatus for winding yarn upon a quill comprising a frame, a spindlerotatably j ournaled in said frame and adapted to support a quill, meansfor delivering the yarn to said spindle along a path extending generallyradially therefrom, a traversing mechanism adapted to move parallel tothe axis of said spindle, means housed within said frame for rotatingsaid spindle and actuating said traversing mechanism, a bunch buildercontrol mechanism associated with said spindle, a bracket rigidlycarried by said traversing mechanism, a longitudinal element rockablyconnected to said bracket at a point spaced from one side of saidspindle and projecting beyond the other side of said spindle, saidelement being rockable within a plane perpendicular to the path of yarnadjacent said spindle, said element having a slot formed therein throughwhich said yarn path extends, means urging said element to move bodilywith said bracket, and means operable in conjunction with said bunchbuilder control mechanism to engage the projecting portion of saidelement at a locus contiguous to said spindle to prevent bodily movementof said element with said traversing mechanism.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said element comprises a leverrockably connected at one end to said bracket and an elongated U-shapedextension on said lever, the leg thereof nearest said frame extendingupwardly from said lever and outwardly from said frame at itstermination, whereby the yarn can be admitted into the interior of saidU-shaped extension.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the means operable to engage theprojecting portion of the rockable element comprises a channel shapedmember extending from the bunch control mechanism, said channel shapedmember having an inclined extension adapted to guide said element intothe channel of said member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

